Chapter 135
Translator: uly
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: The Gacha Scroll
Secret manual.
Commonly known as a skill book.
It was the only means to acquire skills through items, and the scroll before his eyes was a 'hidden manual' that granted one of the absolute top-tier skills among them.
There was only one usage condition.
Whether you possessed a job related to the manual.
In other words, if it was a thief's manual, even Luke with his hidden job might be able to use it.
The Great Thief, successor to the Night King.
Its base was remarkably similar to a thief's, after all.
That's why Luke had tried to choose toward the thief manuals as much as possible, but there was a massive problem preventing that.
The item descriptions weren't visible.
He couldn't tell at all which was a warrior's manual or a thief's.
The only difference was the color of the scrolls.
He wouldn't know the contents until he actually selected and received one.
Realizing this, Luke looked down at the total of ten scrolls, cold sweat dripping from him.
'Fuck, I didn't expect even this to be a gacha.'
This was troubling.
He'd always had rotten luck with this kind of thing.
Even after killing so many users, he'd never properly pulled a good item.
There was no way he'd be strong at relying purely on luck.
'First, let's check.'
There was no guarantee all of them were different types of manuals.
So before choosing, Luke first tossed a question at Feril.
"Hidden manual types?"
"Pretty much all the representative jobs are here!"
"All different types, you say?"
"Yep!"
"No intention of telling me which is which?"
"Perfect!"
For a moment, he suppressed the urge to bear-hug her to death.
What was perfect about it?
She'd called it a record-breaking additional reward, but even that wasn't given easily.
The choice was entirely his own.
A single choice would determine the type of hidden manual he'd receive.
Drip...
Cold sweat trickled down his cheek.
He felt more tension than when facing the Extreme Heavens.
In this even more cautious situation,
Luke scanned the ten colored scrolls from red to black, dozens of times.
Wondering if there was anything else different.
But unfortunately, nothing like that existed.
"My choice is..."
Luke exhaled roughly and slowly extended his hand forward.
His trembling fingers.
Soon, his index finger tilted toward one side.
After much deliberation, he'd chosen the black scroll.
The black one that at least looked closest to a thief's image.
"You sure about this one?"
Feril asked again.
With a mysterious smile.
But Luke nodded without a hint of hesitation.
'In times like this, don't overthink—just go with your first instinct!'
Yeah.
Twisting his brain wouldn't produce an answer anyway.
If anything, in cases like this, thinking simply was...
"Congrats, you got the mage's manual!"
"This fucking...!"
Not the right answer.
Luke slammed the ground in outrage.
1 in 10.
He'd lost to that probability.
The identity of the black scroll was none other than the mage's manual.
One completely opposite to thief.
The additional reward was deposited into his inventory.
No more chances to choose.
Luke rose from his seat, feeling a sense of defeat.
'...Fine, a mage's manual. Still, it's the most popular job among users, right?'
That was true.
Mage-type jobs had the highest user distribution.
Just list the hidden manual at the auction house, and users would line up in no time.
Luke comforted himself with that fact and accepted the situation.
With this, all settlements were complete.
Having received even the additional reward, he had no more business here.
"Just to say it again, this promotion match was truly the best. I'm gonna become an Iron Face fan this time too..."
Ignoring Feril's chatter, he quickly exited the room.
Follow the corridor straight like this, and he'd be out soon enough.
Luke sighed deeply and shuffled his feet along.
That moment.
'Hold on?'
His steps suddenly halted.
His head whipped back toward Feril's room.
At the same time, a thought flashed through Luke's mind.
'If I play this right...?'
After the promotion exam ended.
Videos of the exam were uploaded to Agas's official homepage,
and Rover Company's channels, among others.
All participants' exam footage was made public, winners and losers alike.
Gamers who hadn't watched the exam live now experienced it through the videos.
This promotion exam featured a bunch of rookies,
and the person of interest, Iron Face.
Maybe that's why.
The atmosphere was such that even mid-to-high rankers, who usually ignored it, clicked on the videos at least once.
Of course, they didn't expect much at first.
It was just the first hurdle from lower to mid ranks, and the exam contents were defense battles unfavorable to single-job classes anyway.
Even Iron Face couldn't do much, they thought.
So most watched with dry reactions.
It'd be predictable anyway.
With thoughts like that.
And that notion amplified even more when Petra became Iron Face's opponent.
Already tough, but drawing an AoE-focused mage as opponent, of all things.
His partner was even the berserker Flack.
Of course, Iron Face's partner being a poison master was unexpected, but it didn't change the disadvantage.
An utterly predictable result.
But that thinking flipped soon after the match started.
Easily dismantling goblin patterns from phase 1 was basic.
Then pulling out sub-items that veterans often used, reversing the mood in an instant.
-Kugugugu!
The moment the black hand swept across the ground,
the gamers watching the video shuddered.
Iron Face, presumed to be a thief-type class,
had entered the exam after neatly compensating for his weaknesses.
The score gap slowly narrowed.
Amid that, the poison master showed decent activity, drawing gamers' attention.
The unexpected strong showing from the Iron Face team.
But that was just the beginning.
What plunged gamers worldwide into greater shock was phase 2.
Right when the orcs appeared.
Orcs, trained elephants, and even Gladiator King Uruta.
It felt just like watching a movie.
Iron Face dancing under a single beam of light.
The moment Uruta's head flew off at the end was the absolute highlight.
The boss that even Explosive Fist Master Roxi had given up grappling,
he'd taken down with ease.
No wonder it gave chills.
When everyone shouted it was impossible, Iron Face had done it boldly.
There was a reason the spectator users had gone so wild.
The video reactions were explosive.
Comment counts easily surpassed tens of thousands.
As expected,
comparisons to other users were inevitable.
Iron Face, showing physical prowess breaking even random patterns in the promotion exam.
Users began judging superiority by comparing him to established names.
Self-proclaimed analysts emerged among them.
Presenting their opinions based on various evidence.
Main comparison targets: Gu Hwi, Luke, top rankers.
Hot recent names or long-established powerhouses were frequently mentioned.
Who'd win in a same-level, same-gear fight?
And were there any mid-rank named users on par with Iron Face?
Heated debates raged on such topics.
In the end, that day,
from Agas channels to communities, SNS, broadcasters, online articles—
everywhere was plastered with Iron Face news.
Interest levels incomparably higher than before.
His name was gradually spreading not just in lowers, but mid-to-high ranks too.
And that wasn't all.
The massive buzz from the Iron Face trademark.
Various broadcast media, foreseeing it, were starting to exchange scouting offers for him.
"Perfect image the public loves."
"Super rookie overwhelming everything with physicals! Nothing has this much buzz!"
"Scout him for the pro league we're prepping..."
Topic-worthy even in reality.
The abilities Iron Face had shown warranted that ripple effect.
Especially the mysterious concept of operating masked as Iron Face.
Fan sites for Iron Face were already popping up online.
Popularity spreading far and wide.
But that spotlight gave headaches to some.
None other than guild scouts.
"Damn, Iron Face was a rookie we targeted from the start!"
"Sigh, already tons of competitors, now even mid-sized guilds piling on."
"If we can just make first contact..."
He was already a hotly contested rookie among lowers.
So when mid-rank scouts came to spectate, everyone was tense.
Right after this exam ended, even more voices calling for Iron Face.
He'd proven his value, drawing mid-sized guild interest too.
What moves would he make in mid-ranks?
Whose arms would he fall into?
As such talk flew, scouts grew busier than ever.
Passing the promotion meant tackling the expert gate next.
Then they'd surely pass the paths where the scouts waited.
Recruit Iron Face then.
Faster than anyone.
With such thoughts, scouts stood guard at each path.
"East or west!"
"He has to come through one of them!"
"Other passers already went by. Only Iron Face left!"
But as time passed, scouts grew increasingly anxious.
"But when the hell is he coming?"
"Feels like half a day gone."
"He already passed?"
"Nah, no way..."
No sign of him despite waiting ages.
Around then, uneasy thoughts surfaced.
What if Iron Face already passed?
Such murmurs arose.
But Iron Face—no, Luke—hadn't passed any gate.
He hadn't even crossed the expert gate to begin with.
Because.
Luke was still inside the exam battlefield.
'Time to head out?'
The dimensional gate set up in the waiting room corridor.
Beyond it, he'd been holed up in the dimensional fortress.